Griffin Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Shares in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,365 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $855,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in 3M by 11.4% in the first quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in 3M by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc raised its position in 3M by 4.2% in the second quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 2,638 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. raised its position in 3M by 3.4% in the first quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in 3M by 44.7% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 356 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Down 0.5 %

3M stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $128.64. The stock had a trading volume of 2,300,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,283,855. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $129.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.18 billion, a PE ratio of -10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. UBS Group raised their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Vertical Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, HSBC upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.57.

About 3M

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company's Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.